Very Rare Calico Lobster Caught in Maine

Very Rare Calico Lobster Caught in Maine

The recent calico catch, it will live at the oceanarium until Labor Day, when Goethel and colleagues will return the rare beauty to its ocean home.

Josiah Beringer found the 1.5-pound (0.6 kilogram) animal in one of his traps this week and donated it to the Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium in Hampton, New Hampshire. (See “Odd-Colored Lobsters Decoded.”)

The colorful crustacean is already a main attraction thanks to its remarkable appearance, which includes bright-orange and dark-blue patterns—even on its antennae.

Naturally brownish green, lobsters can come in a variety of colors, including blue, two-toned—with colors split strikingly down the middle—and albino, which may be as rare as 1 in 100 million. (See pictures of albino animals.)

According to Ellen Goethel, a marine biologist and oceanarium director, the chance of finding a calico lobster is between 1 in 30 million and 1 in 50 million, according to some estimates.